Tom Holland pitched an improbable (and peculiar) film adaptation of Jak and Daxter, produced by indie horror darling A24. Yes, you read it right. After he’s done with Uncharted, Holland’s dream project would be a live-action film about an elf boy and an antropomorphic weasel-otter, fighting bad guys on alien planets.
Talking to GameSpot, Holland was asked what other videogame franchise he would like to adapt into film, giving free rein to create his dream project. Considering how Holland is set to star as action-hero Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted, and his experience as Marvel’s Spider-Man, the star’s reply couldn’t be more unexpected. In Holland’s words:
"I would like to make a Jak and Daxter movie, and I would play Jak. I would make it at A24, so it was really weird and like dark… I would do like a really weird, live-action version of Jak and Daxter."
Video game adaptations are tough to crack, as it’s hard to compress dozens of hours of gameplay into a movie. It’s even harder to adapt games with extensive lore and bizarre characters. Now, doing this while also keeping the indie vibe of A24 would be a project that no one in Hollywood would ever consider. Until now. Please, let’s make this real!
Jak and Daxter was one of the leading gaming franchises on the PlayStation 2. The main series spawned four titles, with two spinoffs expanding on the original setting. Unfortunately, even if the franchise is dear to players, developer Naughty Dog still didn’t try to bring it back. However, that could change in the near future, since other PlayStation platforming franchises have been revived in the last couple of years, such as Ratchet & Clank and Crash Bandicoot, the latter also a Naughty Dog IP.
The Uncharted series, also created by Naughty Dog, is one of the world's most successful video game franchises. Created by Amy Hennig, the series has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, which explains why the upcoming adaptation is one of the most-anticipated movies of the year. The film will serve as a prequel to the games, telling how Nathan Drake became the famous archeological explorer.
Uncharted is directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), from a script by Rafe Lee Judkins and Art Marcum & Matt Hollowa. The film also stars Mark Wahlberg as Nate’s mentor Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Tati Gabrielle (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as the villain Braddock, Antonio Banderas as Uncharted’s main antagonist, and Sophia Ali as a young Chloe Frazer, a fan-favorite character from the video game franchise.
Uncharted hits theaters on February 18. Check out Holland’s original pitch below.